Research

Research: Design and Energy Harvesting

The research question is: "What can energy harvesting mean for students of the WdKA?"
Some subquestion:

• "What domains of energy harvesting are interesting for WdKA students?"
  
• "What kind of design projects are using energy harvesting?"
  
• "What are specific problems for the WdKA students given the WdKA curriculum?"
  

Tons of info on how to make your design having an independent source of energy:

• Design & Energy Harvesting
  
• More than you want to know about Solar cells

Research: Connecting the Neurosky Mindwave brain sensor to your project

Research question:
"How to connect the popular Neurosky EEG sensor to student projects?"
Subquestions:

• "Connecting to the Arduino of the Mindflex toy version, and charting/solving problems"
  
• "Connecting the Bluetooth Neurosky version, and charting/solving problems"
  

Serial Connection: with 2 wires.
Connecting the Mindflex version (marktplaats 15-25 euro's) to the Arduino is not very difficult and well described in tutorials:
How-To
scripts
The problem is keeping the connection alive. Sometimes it works using a solution of salt and wetting your forehead a little bit.
The other problem is a design problem: the mindflex on your head is looking clumsy already, the wires and or an Arduino on top look even clumsier:-)

Mobile Phone connection For connecting the Neurosky Mindwave Mobile (more expensive: amazon, 130 euor's), using Bluetooth, the sensor brain signals can be send wirelessly to your mobile phone or an Arduino.
If you connect with your Mobile Phone this device is in the Bluetooth protocol the "Master". Everything is easy following the instructions.
If you want ot make your own app you have to know how to program Android devices. Mindwave has a DEV kit and examples.

Wireless connection to an Arduino: Bluetooth
For this you need a Bluetooth module attached to your Arduino.
When the Mindwave has to connect the bluetooth module attached should serve as a Master. Most Bluetooth modules can act without a problem as a slave, but only some as Master. Yu have to find the right BT module.
This solves the clumsyness problem: the Arduino (or standalone ATmega328) can be hidden in your project.

There are 2 relevant tutorials:
Sprakfun
Mindwave

Although in these tutorials the right Bluetooth Module is indicated we compared several Bluetooth boards:

• [1]
  

By the way, the hacked Mindflex sends the same data as the Mindwave Mobile, but is connected directly, using wires, to an Arduino (Serial RX PIN).

Another update: if you have trouble doing the Serial acrobatics then you could switch the Arduino for a Teensy. This board can be programmed with Arduino software, costs less, and has 3 Serial Ports, beside the USBSerial. It can be connected easily to a BlueSMiRF and the Mndwave: blogpost about this

Research: hacking the KH-940 machine knitter

This is called lobotomy - brain transformation - of the knitting machine KH-940. The hardware in the machine is removed and replaced with an Arduino Due. This microcontroller with a special board and special software can connect to the KH-940 knitting machine. You can prepare images for knitting in several knitting techniques. Not only Nordic, but also patent stitch, slip stitch, weave stitch and other stitches.

• Software for the Due
  
• Double bed knitting
  
• Weave knit
  

For me it is fun to develop datavisualisation in knitting:

• Data vis knit
  

Demonstration: 28-05-2015

Research: Making Relief prints using a 3D printer

This investigation was combining the "old" analog relief print press with the "new" 3D printer. The 3D printer is used to create plates which can be printed using the relief print press in the Publication station. Possibilities of the 3D printer, like the fill patterns are used to create special effects. In the workflow the Blender plugin which can make relief from images is used.
It all started on a small river near a small town in Holland: [2]
A draft research paper can be found here: [3]

Research: Visualising and Materializing GPS Tracking=

What can you do with a GPS tracking?
Rowing on a small river in the heart of Holland....
First of all you can project your track in Google Earth.
But what exactly is your track, where are the data?
The data file is in .kmz format. This is a zip, chane it to .zip and unzip.
Then you find the .kml file. In there are your data.
These data can be imported into Excel or Google Charts.
Then you can start designing your path like the famous subway map from London: get these undesigned curves out!
xls example with formula's
With this nice straigthened path you can make a relief in Blender using import image plugin and the modifiers subdivision and displace.
Make an STL file and export to a 3D printer, now you have your track in 3D.
Or you go to a knitting machine and knit your track, using Designa Knit and Nordic knitting.